This corner of the Silicon Zoo has been reserved by the zookeepers for the oddball scriptures, designers' initials, and other messages that we have discovered on the surface of integrated circuits. A high percentage of the chips that we examine contain the initials (and sometimes complete names) of the chip's designers and often the corporate logo of the manufacturer. Our search for silicon artwork has also led to the discovery of so many flags and maps that we have established a special Silicon Flag and Map gallery to present these tiny renditions.We have caged a collection of photomicrographs of corporate logo-doodles in the Silicon Zoo Logos section of the Molecular Expressions website. Our webmasters have also established a gallery of "Lesser Doodles", which is composed of less complex silicon artwork than that found in the main gallery.

We are in perpetual search of additional integrated circuits that may contain residual scribbling left by chip designers. If you know of any, please email us with the pertinent information.

Silicon Zoo Screen Savers - Download our Silicon Zoo screen savers for Windows now! We have versions featuring 20, 40, 60, or over 80 creatures sized just right for your download connection, whether it is a 14.4K modem or fast T3 Ethernet connection.

Federico Faggin - This famous Intel chip designer/architect/builder emblazoned his initials in history when he placed them on the world's first microprocessor: the Intel 4004.

Betty's Garden - We stumbled onto Betty's name on a sign that was standing next to a very small garden on the AMD 5984A chip.

The Bud Stud - Our hero is proclaimed on a VLSI Technology custom chip.

The Credit Balance - Several of the MIPS R2000 and R3000 mask designers placed their initials on a crude version of a chemical balance.

The Cricket Wicket - Straight out of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the Wikkit Gate was discovered on an Allen-Bradley/Rockwell node adapter integrated circuit.

The Crossword Puzzle - Hewlett-Packard Focus Math coprocessor design engineers placed their initials in a crossword puzzle on one of the chips in the coprocessor chipset.

Too Damn Close! - We spotted this warning on a Hewlett-Packard memory controller chip.

Don't Panic - This advice from the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" warns visitors not to become unraveled when encountering strange aliens and planets.

The Icy "P" Chip - Engineers designing this Allen-Bradley integrated circuit added both their names and a unique acronym pun to the chip.

Logos Cast in Silicon - Many chip makers attach their logos to the masks used in fabrication. This corner of the Silicon Zoo contains the logos that we have found on chips.

Made in Texas - We discovered this sheriff's badge on a Dallas Semiconductor integrated circuit, presumably manufactured in Texas.

The MIPS Chain Gang - Chip designers from MIPS who call themselves the "Chain Gang".

MIPS Chip Designer Kevin Kuhn - Kevin is responsible for many of the Silicon Creatures featured in the Zoo.

Speed It Up - This slogan is something we would associate with dragsters, but a Dallas Semiconductor chip also sports racing "decals".

Spit 'n Spud - A rather unusual slogan was discovered on an Analog Devices stereo codec integrated circuit.

Steal The Best - Digital engineers left this phrase written in Cyrillic on one of the early VAX microprocessors. It was designed to send a message to Russian chip makers intent on pirating their circuitry.

Sweet Lips - We can only guess what this means.

Tree Space - Trees are an uncommon feature on integrated circuits. That is why we were surprised to find the term "TREE" in an empty area on a chip of unknown origin.

The World's Most Common Random Number - MIPS chip designer Mark Johnson, who claims the number 37 is the most common random number, scribbled it on the MIPS R4000 microprocessor.

Where the Girlz Are - These "girlz" are on an Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) integrated circuit.

Willy and Val - They were so proud, they autographed the chip.